Intoxication
by stopnatsu
Summary: When Natsu gets drunk, Natsu gets honest- especially with Lucy. Contains scenes of Natsu drunkenly singing at the guild hall. NaLu. One-shot. Fluffy. Rated T for adult themes (drinking).


Lucy's gaze washed over the figure before her, an amused smirk working its way onto her lips.

She watched as the boy peered around the room, head swiveling from the left to the right, like he was looking for something specific; she made note of how red his ears and cheeks were, and tucked the image into the back of her mind, finding it sort of cute. The pink haired boy stumbled about, mumbling something incoherent under his breath as he staggered along, his eyebrows tugging down as his face was enveloped in a frustrated pout.

His dark eyes landed on her, and his face instantly lit up. No longer was a frown etched into his pores—no, now he was completely made of sunshine, beaming and bright. The color of his cheeks deepened as he made his way over to the blonde, bumping into a table or two along the way.

"Lucy," The boy mumbled, words slurred. His lips were twisted into a joyous smile. "When did you get here?"

Lucy's smirk intensified as she watched Natsu struggle to stand straight. "I brought you here, Natsu."

He blinked at her. "Oh." The second of confusion seemed to pass, and once again his face burst into a look of utter joy. "Right."

Lucy crossed her arms, unable to stop a smile from pinching at her cheeks. "You're drunk."

"Am not!"

"How much have you had?"

He snorted. "Tons."

"Knew it."

It wasn't like she hadn't seen the dragon slayer drunk before, but it _was_ a rare sight. Not that he wasn't absolutely willing, but because his body temperature seemed to burn the alcohol off before it could affect him; more often than not, he'd get a slight buzz but be sober as could be ten minutes later.

He must've been going pretty hard to maintain this level of drunkenness—and the beer in his hand signalled that he wasn't quite ready to stop.

She'd been watching him all night, making sure he didn't overdo it. She wasn't about to stop him—boy could make his own decisions, and if his decision was to have a raging headache in an hour, she wasn't about to butt in—but she did like to check up on him, make sure he was alright.

Not to mention, he was absolutely hilarious when he was drunk.

The first stage of Natsu's drunken rampage was to fight every single person in the guild—or at least attempt to. He'd stumbled around the place, slightly buzzed, insulting everyone in his wake. Laxus, Gildarts, Erza, Gray, everyone. He'd even made his way up to Lucy and attempted to engage her in battle— _'Luce, if you were really my best friend, you'd fight me'_ —unsuccessfully, of course.

He was a real troublemaker at this point in the evening; Lucy had to make her rounds, make amends to all of the people he'd pissed off. Lucy settled everything before the guild decided to gang up and attack him—although he was far too tipsy to realize she'd just saved his ass. But she didn't mind. He was her best friend, after all.

The second stage of Natsu's drunken evening was performing. With a couple more drinks flowing their his veins, he'd become a real entertainer.

He hopped up onto the stage after encountering Lucy, interrupting Gajeel's jazz performance. He stumbled up to the mic and grumbled, "Stop the music, shut it off, Jesus."

"Oi!" Gajeel protested, peeved. There was nothing he took more seriously than his jazz performances. "Get outta here, fire-breath!"

Lucy had cringed in her seat, afraid a fight would break out. Lord knew she wasn't capable of splitting up Natsu and Gajeel. "Oh, no."

Natsu spun, eyes locking with the iron dragon slayer. He spoke boldly, words slurred, drink sloshing in his hand and spilling slightly. "Maybe get some talent, iron-face."

" _What?_ " Gajeel hissed, standing up from his stool, setting his guitar down carefully.

Lucy covered her face. " _Oh, no_."

Natsu ignored Gajeel, instead turning his attention to the crowd, who was whooping and hollering at him. "You guys wanna see—" He paused, hiccupping, and continued on his garbled frenzy, "Some real fuckin' talent?"

The crowd went wild, hollering at Natsu to perform. Lucy let out a sigh, knowing that the guild was just egging Natsu on because he was a funny drunk, because he did stupid things. Hopefully he didn't do anything _too_ crazy.

Gajeel, ticked that the crowd would dare to choose Natsu over him, grumbled and hopped off the stage, letting Natsu have his drunken moment.

"Alright." Natsu stumbled slightly, despite standing still. He turned to his left, nearly falling over. "What the—what do I sing? Fuck."

The crowd yelled out some suggestions, telling Mira to turn on the guild's karaoke machine and let him use some of those options. Guild members belted out song options, trying to pick sappy and slow ones that would maximize the hilariousness of the situation.

"Angel of the morning!" Gray had screamed. "Sing Angel of the morning!"

Natsu shot a finger gun in Gray's direction, too drunk to be aware that the crowd was laughing at him. "Tha—that's a good one, yep, okay, Mira, let's do this thing," He shouted into the mic, unaware of just how loud he was speaking. "Hope you guys are ready for a fuckin' show."

The crowd burst into cheers as the karaoke machine began to play the song; Natsu began to sway (completely not with the rhythm, at that).

"Let's do this," He'd blubbered, tipping his head back and chugging the rest of his beer. He burped into the mic. "You're fuckin' welcome."

And then, the show began.

"There'll be no strings to bind your hands, not if my love can bind your heart…" The pink haired boy began, practically screeching the slurred words into the microphone rather than sing them. He was slobbering as he yelled the lyrics, tipping his head back in a dramatic fashion. He sang through the entire song; by the time the dramatic chorus came, he'd erupted into high pitched screams, not even attempting to sing anymore. He was dancing all over the stage—well, trying to; he was mostly just stumbling around—flailing the mic with every movement.

"Just call me angel of the morning, angel! Just touch my cheek before you leave me, baby! Just call me angel of the morning, angel! Then slowly, turn away, from me!"

Lucy's cheeks were red, both out of sheer embarrassment and from laughing at her best friend; the entire guild was absolutely dying, rolling around, utterly entertained by Natsu's drunken madness.

Once he'd finished the song, he bowed; the crowd went wild. He started to shout, pumping his fist furiously, going on about being a 'fucking Rockstar, bitches'. After five more minutes of his nonsense, Laxus and Elfman had to go up on stage and force him off; he fought them, trying to escape, which only made the guild cheer louder. Once they'd finally grabbed him, he shouted some words into the mic before dropping it and being tugged behind the curtains, out of sight.

"Fuck the police!" He'd drunkenly shouted, eyes bleary and red. "I love Lucy!"

Lucy had face-palmed, utterly embarrassed by her best friend's intoxicated behaviour.

Cana, who was sat beside her, give her a smirk. "You're boyfriend's a real winner, Lucy."

Lucy stood, face flushing. "Not my boyfriend." She pushed herself away from the table, making her way towards the space behind the stage, where Laxus and Elfman had towed her best friend. Eventually, she found them in one of the stage-rooms (it was filled with Erza's theatre props).

To her surprise, Natsu was relatively unharmed; she'd figured Laxus would rough him up at least a little. Instead, she found Laxus and Elfman snickering as they watched Natsu shotgun another beer in record time.

"Oh god," She mumbled, watching the pink haired boy chug his drink with concern. "This can't be good."

"Whatsa matter, blondie? Don't like your boyfriend getting drunk?" Laxus inguired with a chuckle.

Lucy shook her head, watching as Natsu finished his beer, reached into his pocket and grabbed another one he'd previously stashed away. "No—it's not that." She paused, meeting the older boy's eyes. "And why's everyone keep calling him my boyfriend?"

"Then what is it?"

The blonde girl sighed, crossing her arms as she watched Natsu nearly fall over, laughing to himself about something no one else was aware of. "Well, he's got two stages of being drunk: angry, and entertainer." She paused, grimacing. "I don't know what comes next."

"Huh. Guess you're right," Laxus mumbled, watching the younger boy finish off his next beer. "This could be dangerous."

"I think it's manly!" Elfman cried, giving Natsu a clap on the back. "Way to be!"

Natsu frowned up at the big guy. "Who're—who're you?"

Lucy rubbed her forehead. "Oh, god."

It didn't take Lucy long to figure out what Natsu's third drunk stage was. Within minutes, it had become utterly clear to her.

He was clingy.

"Luuuuucyyyyy," Natsu had whined, throwing his arms around her, hugging her tightly. He squeezed her, shoving her face into his chest. "You're just the best."

Laxus and Elfman had made a run for it, givng Lucy a wave for good luck.

Lucy let out a little laugh, hands landing on his upper body. "Natsu, how are you feeling?"

His eyes were red and bleary; his face was red and slightly puffy. "Perfect," He slurred. "How—how're _you_?"

"Well," Lucy said, laughing to herself slightly, "I'm fine. More worried about you, though."

Natsu leaned into her, face oddly close to hers; she could feel his breath fan across her face, the strong smell of alcohol making her laugh. "Well _I'm_ worried about _you_."

"Why are you worried about me?" Lucy asked, hands reaching out and catching his tipping body before he fell over. "Come over here, Natsu—come on, sit down. Good boy."

Natsu sat down, obliging her orders. "'Cuz—you know, there's bad people."

She laughed. "What?"

"Yeah, like—bad people, and you're real good—so, bad things." He blinked, words making less sense as time drew on. She took a step back, and his hand snapped out, snaking around her waist, pulling her back close to him. He tugged her in gently, pulling her so that she was standing between his open legs; his hands rested on her waist.

The position and contact was enough to make her cheeks burn.

"What are you talking about?" Lucy replied with a smirk, amused by his nonsensical drunk speak.

Natsu huffed out a breath. "'Cuz you're so good and _pretty_ and bad people like pretty people and they hurt them and I won't let anyone hurt you 'cuz you're my favorite so," He sucked in a quick breath, "You don't have to worry about anything ever because I worry about you and make sure you're safe and stuff."

She couldn't help but blush slightly at his words. Maybe it was just the liquor, or maybe he actually meant it. Either way, it was oddly flattering. "You think I'm pretty?"

"Do ya—do ya really have to ask?"

"Maybe."

Natsu leaned forward, resting his head on her stomach, his hands wrapped around her waist. Instinctually, her hands landed on his head, fingers running through his hair.

"I think," He mumbled, his hands gripping the back of her shirt, "I think I love you."

Lucy's eyes bolted wide open, and she peered down at the boy; her brown eyes gazed at the back of his pink haired head, unsure what to say. Did he mean it, or was he just spouting off drunken thoughts, like he had been all night? The entire evening he'd been acting like a drunken idiot. Was this any different?

"You… _what?_ "

Natsu tilted back, his eyes meeting hers. She couldn't read the emotion in them, couldn't read what he was thinking. Was he serious? Was he in love with her? Did he mean the things he was saying? Because the look on his face was…deep. Conflicted. Perhaps—

His expression twisted again, his lips twisting downwards very suddenly.

Lucy frowned. "Natsu?"

And then, very quickly, she figured out what that conflicted expression meant.

Natsu leaned down, vomiting all over Lucy's shoes. He threw up for a solid minute, paused for a moment or two, and then barfed again. Her feet were absolutely coated; she cringed, trying hard not to scream out in disgust.

After a couple quiet seconds, Natsu peered back up at her, eyes big and wide and puppy-dog like, and he bumbled out a few words.

"I puked," He murmured, voice little and innocent and afraid, like a little boy.

And she couldn't be mad at him, not really. He hadn't meant to. Besides, she was far too deflated—it had just hit her how out of it he truly was, and she was now aware that his words before, his confession of sorts, had not been reality. Her gaze softened at her best friend, her heart aching for a long second. "I know, Natsu," She whispered. "Let's take you home."

"Nooooo," The boy whined, reaching back up and grabbing the hem of her shirt. "Don't leave me."

Lucy gave him a smile, although there was a strong sadness behind it. "I won't."

"Can we—" He paused, swallowing hard, "Can we go to your house?"

"Sure," Lucy said with a nod. She leaned down, hands on his hips, steadying him as she stood him up. "You're gonna have to lean on me, okay? Arm over my shoulder, okay?"

"Mhm," He'd mumbled back, stumbling and tripping as she practically dragged him out to the guild hall.

The entire guild burst into cheers at the sight of Natsu, only getting louder when they saw the trail of vomit leading from Natsu's mouth to Lucy's now stained stocking and shoes.

"Say goodbye everyone," Lucy called, tightening her grip on the boy, "Natsu's done for the night."

"Nooooooo!" The crowd cried. "Don't leave yet, drunk Natsu!"

Natsu gave a half-assed wave to the crowd, too drunk and sick to really care anymore. "I love my fans."

"Come on, superstar." Lucy murmured to him, helping him out of the guild.

They made their way into the cobblestone streets, and the cold air eased Natsu slightly; he sucked in a couple of deep breaths, trying to get the smell of vomit out of his nostrils. They stumbled their way to Lucy's apartment, up the stairs to the second floor; she settled him down on the couch carefully.

Lucy turned, pulling away to go get him some water, but was stopped; his hand had clasped around hers, holding her tight, preventing her from leaving.

"I'm not going anywhere, Natsu," Lucy said softly. "Just getting you something to drink."

He ignored her, not caring about the glass of water. "You're my favorite."

"Sure," Lucy said, not really wanting to listen to him say this kind of stuff. It just sucked her in, got her hopes up, made her heart fall with disappointment once she realized the truth…

"You are."

"Uh-huh," Lucy nodded. "And you're drunk."

His eyebrows stitched together. "So?"

"So you're not making any sense," Lucy explained, covering it with a little laugh. "You're just…you're drunk."

"Just because I'm drunk doesn't mean I'm lying." His tone was serious, dark.

"Well, it definitely leads me to believe you're not telling the truth." Lucy tried to keep her tone light, but both individuals were well aware of the serious connotations behind each word.

His eyes locked on hers; he squeezed her hand. "I'm not kidding, Luce."

He was still drunk—she could see it in his eyes—but he was no longer the bumbling, slurring mess he was before. No—now, he was in control. He seemed to know what he was doing.

Lucy gave him an unconvinced look. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

Natsu's dark eyes blinked up at her, truthful and aware. "You're my favorite."

Lucy nodded, accepting it. Okay, so maybe he meant what he was saying. She was his favorite. "You're my favorite, too."

His expression twisted into a slight frown as he looked at her, eyes serious, but he said nothing. A couple moments of silence enveloped the two of them, and Lucy's heart thrummed in her chest as her mind raced. If he meant _these words_ …did that mean he meant the other thing, too?

She didn't want to ask—it was too much, too personal.

But she couldn't help herself. Maybe it was because she'd had a drink or two tonight as well. Liquid courage.

"About what you said earlier?" Lucy squeaked, clearing her throat, trying to sound confident. "About…you know."

Natsu nodded at her. "Yeah?"

Lucy swallowed; her heart was beating so hard she could feel her pulse in her toes. "Did you…mean that, too?"

It was like time slowed down, like it took years for a single millisecond to pass. She watched him carefully, evaluating his expression, unsure of how he would respond. What if he didn't mean them? God, that would be so embarrassing, she'd just want to die if that were the case, and—

"Meant that, too."

Lucy blinked. "You did?"

He snorted, amused by her shocked reaction. "Yeah. Why do you think I got so wasted? Had to work up the courage somehow."

Lucy's face flushed. "Oh. Well." Her lips spread into a shy smile. "I feel…the same."

Natsu laughed, dropping his head, attempting to hide the fact that he was blushing, too. "Ah. Well, good. Great." He smiled up at her, but frowned for a second. "Uhh, sorry I barfed on you."

Lucy peered down at her feet. She was absolutely covered in puke. "Yeah—by the way, I _just_ bought these shoes. You're gonna have to reimburse me."

"Like hell I am!"

"This is _your_ fault!"

He made a face. "I only did it so that I could tell you how I feel!"

"I don't care!" Lucy cried back. "You didn't have to puke on me!"

"Whatever, weirdo. I'm not paying for shit."

"Oh, yes you are. Next paycheck is going _straight_ to me buying some new flats."

"Or, here's another thought—we go to that barbecue place and pig out like you promised me last week."

Lucy let out a cry. "That was before you barfed on me!"

She sat down on the couch, and they bickered like that, back and forth, just like they normally did. And things were different, sure—because after all, they ended up making out a little after Lucy insisted Natsu brush his teeth—but they weren't really different at all.

Because they were Natsu and Lucy, and that's all that mattered.


End file.
